Daily Devotions
Haggai
"Consider your ways"
Text: Haggai 1:5
A FURTHER WORD FROM THE LORD
The Lord did not stop there. He went on to give a further word to the returnees.
“Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts:
‘Consider your ways!
You have sown much, and bring in little;
You eat, but you do not have enough;
You drink, but you are not filled with drink;
You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm;
And he who earns wages,
Earns wages to put into a bag with holes,'”
Haggai 1:5-6
1. “Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Consider your ways!'”
a) The Lord continued to engage the returnees.
b) The returnees:
i) Some had been more successful than others.
Thus, they were able to afford “paneled house”.
ii) The majority were not as successful in their endeavours.
2. The efforts of the people were analyzed
a) “You have sown much, and bring in little”
i)This was a reference to the farmers.
ii) The harvest had not been great!
b) “You eat, but you do not have enough”
i) One works hard to have something to eat.
ii) But there wasn’t enough money to buy adequate amount of food.
c) “You drink, but you are not filled with drink”
i) It was natural to need water to drink.
ii) But water was scarce and thus there was no sufficiency.
d) “You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm”
i) Clothes were a necessity.
ii) The winter months saw many not having enough warm clothing.
e) “And he who earns wages, earns wages to put into a bag with holes”
These were eking out a living but they had hardy any savings to speak of! Life was very hard for the returnees! But was this a valid excuse for neglecting the temple of the LORD?